Known ultrasound medical methods include using ultrasound imaging (at low power) of patients to identify patient tissue for medical treatment and include using ultrasound (at high power), from the same or a different ultrasound transducer, to ablate identified patient tissue by heating the tissue.
Known ultrasound medical systems and methods include deploying an end effector having an ultrasound transducer outside the body to break up kidney stones inside the body, endoscopically inserting an end effector having an ultrasound transducer in the rectum to medically destroy prostate cancer, laparoscopically inserting an end effector having an ultrasound transducer in the abdominal cavity to medically destroy a cancerous liver tumor, intravenously inserting a catheter end effector having an ultrasound transducer into a vein in the arm and moving the catheter to the heart to medically destroy diseased heart tissue, and interstitially inserting a needle end effector having an ultrasound transducer needle into the tongue to medically destroy tissue to reduce tongue volume to reduce snoring.
Conventional ultrasound medical systems include a system having an end effector including a medical ultrasound transducer, a sheath, and a water acoustic coupling medium. The end effector is inserted into a patient, and a balloon portion (which acts as an acoustic window) of the sheath is expanded by increasing water pressure until the balloon portion contacts patient tissue. Then, the medical ultrasound transducer emits medical ultrasound through the balloon portion via the water to image and/or treat the patient tissue.
Still, scientists and engineers continue to seek improved ultrasound medical systems.